Kaepernick gets to play close to home with 49ers

For Colin Kaepernick, getting drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and starting his NFL career a 2-hour drive away from home more than made up for having to wait until the second round to be picked.

The strong-armed and fleet-footed Nevada quarterback was selected Friday with the fourth pick of the second round, No. 36 overall, after the 49ers traded up to get him.

Kaepernick was at his parents' house in Turlock, Calif., about 100 miles east of San Francisco, when he got the call.

"That was probably the most exciting moment in my life thus far," he said during a conference call with reporters.

Kaepernick acknowledged he was disappointed to not be drafted in the first round and to have five quarterbacks go ahead of him.

"We knew it wasn't something that was guaranteed," he said of going in the first round.

Considering the way it worked out, though, Kaepernick couldn't have drawn it up any better.

"I'll take this situation over going in the first round any day," he said.

There was plenty of speculation about the Niners taking Kaepernick leading up to the draft, and that's what his parents and the rest of his family were rooting for.

"The more games they get to watch, the happier they are," he said. "People in the area have already started to say they're buying season tickets."

During his call with reporters, Kaepernick had to excuse himself to answer another call. It was his new boss, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

Kaepernick was planning to drive over to the 49ers' facility Friday night and have dinner with Harbaugh.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Kaepernick is the only player in college football history with three seasons in which he passed for at least 2,000 yards and ran for at least 1,000 playing in Nevada's Pistol offense.

He's confident making the transition to a prostyle attack won't be too daunting, and he's got a source for inside information on his new coach. Kaepernick is friendly with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who played under Harbaugh the past two seasons.

"He expects the best out of you," Kaepernick said of Harbaugh.

The 49ers have an immediate need at quarterback. Former first overall selection Alex Smith has never developed into a steady starter and behind him they have Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and David Carr, another No. 1 pick who didn't pan out.

So even though Kaepernick would seem to be the type of quarterback who could use a year or two of seasoning, the former high school pitcher who was drafted by the major leagues should have a legitimate chance to play as a rookie.

"I'm going to do everything on my end to be ready," Kaepernick said. "It's going to be up to them to decide whether I start."